A photographer is a professional that focuses on the art of taking photographs with a digital or film camera. Photographers use artificial and/or natural lighting to snap pictures of various people, places and things in a variety of settings. Some photographers focus on studio work, while other explore the natural, outside world.
A photographer generally works in a freelance capacity, and is hired for specific jobs by numerous clients. Some photographers work exclusively in certain segments of the industry, such as wedding, graduation and other event-type settings, while others do mainly corporate work, and spend most of their time taking photographs that will appear on business websites and other promotional material. Still others, however, focus more on the artistic side of photography, and choose their own subjects and material that they wish to shoot.